


Fractured Family

by ShadowReaper_912



Category: Just Roll With It (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27637058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowReaper_912/pseuds/ShadowReaper_912
Summary: The aftermath of the battle, if things were less favourable for the crew.SPOILERS For the end of Episode 4!
Kudos: 19





	Fractured Family

“It’s too soon.” Kasper mumbled- more to himself than anyone else. “He was taken too soon. The adventure… it’s barely started.”

“You say that like it’s over.” Heleus said softly, his voice full of guilt- guilt that he hadn’t been there to help, guilt that  _ he  _ had survived, when the other had not. 

“You think I don’t know that?” The human’s eyes glistened with unshed tears as he turned to the centaur. “Even if I  _ wanted  _ it to be over- we’re in the middle of who knows where, surrounded by so many things that want us dead I’m surprised we haven’t joined him yet.”

“Guys..” Flynn whispered, eyes cast to the floor. 

“Kasper- do you really have such Little faith in us all? Is that why he’s gone, hmm? Because you put him down?” Heleus stood from the rubble he had perched himself atop, staggering slightly as he clopped slowly towards the older man. 

“Shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” He prodded. “It’s not very hard to see that you didn’t like him from the beginning. Maybe he made you realise how lazy you are, and that didn’t sit well with your inflated ego.”

“Heleus, Kasper-  _ please.” _ Kroe tried this time, hands up as he tried to calm them down. He was given an irritated side glance, and then was disregarded. 

“Says you.” Kasper shot back. “You weren’t even there when it happened- if anyone here is to blame, it’s you and your stupid horse ass.” He shoved at the centaur, managing to get enough force to make the other stumble back slightly with a scowl on his face. 

“Yet, you  _ were  _ there, and you let it happen. The blame rests on you and you alone, Kasper. You can’t run from the truth forever, and we both know it.” Heleus was clutching at where he had been stabbed, a slight grimace covered by his disdain for Kasper in that moment. 

“Guys!” Flynn yelled, glaring at the two. Tears were running down his face by now, and he had moved to stand on the rock he had previously been sat on. His fists shook by his sides and his breathing was heavy. “This… This isn’t what he’d have wanted. He wouldn’t want his friends arguing over something that he knew couldn’t be changed.”

“Flynn’s right. You two are so caught up in the moment, that you have completely disregarded the situation we find ourselves in- and the choice we are going to have to make.” They all shared a look when Kroe finished speaking, before their eyes moved to look at it. 

The body. 

All of them knew that they couldn’t take his body with them- it would be more of a hindrance than anything- but no one wanted to be the one to say it. What if he had a family? What were they meant to tell them if he did?

Kasper drew in a shaky breath, dropping to his knees beside the still form of his friend. 

“He… he was like a son to me. He was like a son to me, and I let him down. And now he’s dead, and there’s nothing I can do to change that.” Reaching down, he gently ran a thumb over the cold cheek. “I wish there was- I would give  _ anything _ to see that light in your eyes again. But that’s not how life works. I don’t have many regrets in my life, but the one thing I regret most in my life is not stepping in sooner.” He lowered his head, eyes falling shut. 

“Kasper… you know what we have to do now.” Flynn whispered, standing slightly behind the human. 

“Do I?”

“We… we have to make the choice. Of- of whether we leave him here or take him with us.”

“That shouldn’t be a choice we have to make.” Kasper wiped at his face, trying not to think too hard about anything. 

“But it is, Kasper. And… you know as well as I- as the rest of us- that only one of those options is ideal.” Kroe said softly from where he had moved to stand by Heleus. 

“That doesn’t make it any easier to agree to.”

“Then maybe we should give him a send off- the kind that only Alastyr could receive. The kind only he could truly appreciate.” The centaur moved forward slightly, his voice void of the fight it had carried moments ago. 

Kasper chuckled slightly to himself, nodding as he stood. 

“That’s definitely an idea. Is there anything flammable around here?”

“I think I saw something on the way.” Kroe said, turning quickly and walking through the city cautiously. 

It didn’t take them too long to reach a small wooden structure, and the body of their friend was carefully placed inside and surrounded by a ring of grease. 

“He’s… he's definitely dead, right?” Kasper asked carefully once they were all back outside of it. 

“I checked. I’m pretty sure he was.” Flynn fiddled with a loose thread on his jacket. 

“Pretty sure or certain?”

“...Certain. That hole in his chest… It was pretty hard to miss.” They shared a small nod. 

“Who has the matches?” Heleus raided his hand slightly, removing them from a pocket and approaching the shack. 

“Ready?” He asked, readying himself for what he was about to do. Quick glances and a small nod gave Heleus his answer, and with a deep breath he lit a match and threw it inside. 

For a few minutes they just stood there, watching as the flames slowly spread throughout the hut. 

“Does… does anyone have any words?” Kroe whispered, eyes fixed on the orange glow ahead of them. 

Kasper was taking a step forward before he knew what he was going to say. 

“Alastyr Cross. He did a lot of stupid things in the short time I knew him. He was the boy who set the world tree on fire to protect his friends, even though it nearly got him killed several times. The boy who bought a pet he knew he couldn’t keep because he didn’t want Bingus to be alone any longer. The boy who gave away a beloved pet, because he knew better than to try and take it with him. He was the boy who got us all out of that dream world, and in the end probably saved us all. He was a boy-... no. He was a man. He was more of a man than any of us, and he deserved so much better than this. I can only hope, Alastyr, that these adventures we went on with you were everything you had hoped they would be. Thank you for always being there for all of us. You will be greatly missed by your family-  _ both _ families.” 

The four remaining took each other's hands, watching as the flames slowly burned out, and as the city around them darkened. 

“You may be gone, but you  _ will not _ be forgotten. You  _ will  _ be remembered, even if it kills me.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This work does spoil events from throughout Convergence (so far, at the release of Episode 4 ft. Wilbur Soot on YouTube), but the actual event of the fic is not canon.


End file.
